Many organizations give position statements without actually knowing what their constituents believe on important issues. Northwest Professional Educators (NWPE) is dedicated to determining educators’ actual views on important issues and sharing this information with policy makers.

The statewide survey of NWPE members yielded a response rate of 32%. Forty seven educators who are not members of NWPE also responded to the survey providing the views of 107 educators in total. Responses for educators who are not members of NWPE were calculated in the figures for “all” respondents.

This report covers four major areas: Education Reform, Education Funding, Legislative/Policy Issues, and Current Concerns of Educators.

EDUCATION REFORM: Educators were surveyed on their views of the effectiveness of Washington’s current education reform process. This reform agenda was initiated in 1992 and established Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) and the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). Some notable results indicate that:

67% believe that the WASL distracts from classroom instruction;

75% believe that the WASL has caused a narrowing of curriculum to students’ detriment;

72% believe that EALRs and the WASL have impeded teacher authority to make routine decisions on classroom management and instructional methods;

31% are aware of ethical violations in WASL administration,

69% believe that the expenditure of state funds on the education reform agenda tied to the WASL has not been an efficient and effective use of state education dollars for raising student achievement;

46% believe teachers’ working conditions have deteriorated since the implementation of the education reform system; and

77% believe the WASL should be discontinued in favor of an effective but less costly student assessment and accountability system that includes multiple measures such as locally chosen assessment tools and standardized tests such as the ITBS, NAEP as a sampling to determine program strengths, etc.

NWPE calls on legislators and education policy makers to consider these results, analyze other sources of information, and determine whether the original intentions of Washington’s education reform agenda are being realized. If not, we call for an appropriate course correction as soon as possible for the sake of our students, our profession, and the state’s tenuous economic situation.

LEGISLATIVE/POLICY: Some issues with significant interest among educators revealed:

73% believe unfunded mandates should be considered “not mandatory;”

58% believe teacher strikes should be prohibited (70% among NWPE members); and

57% support HB 1194 requiring teaching the relationship of the Declaration of Independence to the state and federal constitutions (65% among NWPE members).

Additional issues such as charter schools, retire/rehire policy, and flexible compensation packages to attract and retain high quality teachers were surveyed. These are reported on later in this document.

EDUCATOR CONCERNS: The percentage of respondents who indicated moderate to high concern with the issues listed is detailed below:

89% Class Size

87% Discipline

86% Pay

83% Benefits

82% Teacher quality

78% Teacher authority to make routine classroom decisions for students

69% Religious or political intolerance in schools

69% High turnover of new teachers

67% Paperwork

63% Availability of high quality teacher coursework

61% Supplies

60% Reliability of union support for all bargaining unit members

The above results reveal that in addition to their concerns with pay and benefits, educators have serious concerns with teacher quality and working conditions. Teachers do not feel empowered as professionals and often work in environments of religious and political hostility. In addition, despite the fact that educators pay mandatory fees for collective bargaining, they do not trust that they will receive nondiscriminatory union representation. All of these factors must be considered and improved if Washington State expects to attract and retain high, quality, committed education professionals.

Please see the following pages for details on the views of educators on numerous education issues such as charter schools, teacher strikes, performance pay, and more.

EDUCATION REFORM

Note: Some figures may not add up to 100% exactly due to multiple responses or rounding.

To what extent has WASL implementation affected classroom instruction?

Note: Some figures may not add up to 100% exactly due to multiple responses or rounding.

Should individual students, their parents and their teachers be allowed to see WASL results?

NWPE: Yes: 90% No: 2% Not Sure: 9%
ALL: Yes: 92% No: 1% Not Sure: 7%

Note: Some figures may not add up to 100% exactly due to multiple responses or rounding.

Since 1992 Washington State has spent over $1 billion implementing a school reform system tied to the WASL. Do you believe this has been an efficient and effective use of state funds for raising student achievement?

Northwest Professional Educators is a nonprofit, professional educators’ organization founded by Washington state educators wanting a professional organization focused on students as educators’ highest priority and improving the professionalism of education without engaging in controversial non-education politics or tactics that offend their professional sensibilities. CONTACT: Cindy Omlin, Executive Director (800-380-6973, info@nwpe.org)